London Design Festival 2013 – Dezeenhttps://www.dezeen.com
architecture and design magazineSat, 10 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Video tour of West End Design District at London Design Festival 2013https://www.dezeen.com/2013/11/12/west-end-design-district-at-london-design-festival-2013-video-tour/
https://www.dezeen.com/2013/11/12/west-end-design-district-at-london-design-festival-2013-video-tour/#respondTue, 12 Nov 2013 17:56:39 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=383869Movie: Dezeen takes a tour of the inaugural West End Design District during this year's London Design Festival, taking in highlights including the Sanderson hotel, shoe designer Tracey Neuls' store and the Republic of Fritz Hansen showroom. West End Design District is a new London Design Festival district launched this year by design show designjunction - see the digital map

In the movie we visit the Sanderson hotel on Berners street, refurbished in 2000 by French designer Philippe Starck, which featured an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by American artist Miya Ando during London Design Festival.

Verena Haller, senior vice president of design at Morgans Hotel Group

"We're very proud to be in the West End Design District," says Verena Haller, senior vice president of design at Morgans Hotel Group, which owns the Sanderon. "There are a lot of design stores around all in walking distance and it really attracts young designers and celebrities."

"This is a structure made out of our waste veneer and leather materials from our production facility in Denmark," explains Martha McNaughton of Fritz Hansen. "The whole idea behind it is an exploration into the re-use of waste materials."

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2013/11/12/west-end-design-district-at-london-design-festival-2013-video-tour/feed/0designjunction "breaks the mould of the traditional trade show"https://www.dezeen.com/2013/11/07/movie-designjunction-2013-deborah-spencer-michael-sodeau/
https://www.dezeen.com/2013/11/07/movie-designjunction-2013-deborah-spencer-michael-sodeau/#commentsThu, 07 Nov 2013 11:09:06 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=382200Movie: show director Deborah Spencer and creative director Michael Sodeau take us through their highlights of designjunction 2013 in this movie Dezeen filmed during London Design Festival. designjunction took place from 18 to 22 September 2013 in the industrial building of a former postal sorting office on New Oxford Street in London. "We feel it

designjunction took place from 18 to 22 September 2013 in the industrial building of a former postal sorting office on New Oxford Street in London.

Deborah Spencer, designjunction show director

"We feel it breaks the mould of the traditional trade show," says Spencer. "We're in the heart of central London, in a derelict building that hasn't been used for the last ten years. It's a really interesting back-drop and it presents design in a much more interesting light."

Spread over three floors, designjunction showcased a range of furniture and lighting products by both young designers and established brands from the UK and abroad.

The show also featured pop-up shops, bars and restaurants, as well as live manufacturing on site.

Michael Sodeau, designjunction design director

"I wanted exhibitors and visitors to feel that they could spend a full day here," explains Michael Sodeau, creative director of the show. "The idea was to create a rhythm within the building, so it's almost like different districts."

"On the ground floor we have the pop-up shops and street food. Then on the first floor we move up to more exhibitions, slightly more open spaces and then up onto the second floor where we have brands and a more exclusive restaurant and bar."

Spencer says one of her personal highlights of this year's show was the Flash Factories area on the ground floor, which featured live demonstrations of various manufacturing techniques, from 3D printing and CNC routing to the production of hand-made bicycle saddles by British manufacturer Brooks.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2013/11/07/movie-designjunction-2013-deborah-spencer-michael-sodeau/feed/1The Volcano Project by Kieren Joneshttps://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/27/the-volcano-project-by-kieren-jones/
https://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/27/the-volcano-project-by-kieren-jones/#commentsSun, 27 Oct 2013 18:00:00 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=373528Welsh designer Kieren Jones has devised a concept for harnessing the destructive power of erupting volcanoes by using lava flows to cast components for buildings. Having discovered that the current method for controlling lava from the world's most volatile volcanoes is to redirect it using huge concrete barriers or cool it with sea water, Kieren

]]>Welsh designer Kieren Jones has devised a concept for harnessing the destructive power of erupting volcanoes by using lava flows to cast components for buildings.Scale model of building elements

Having discovered that the current method for controlling lava from the world's most volatile volcanoes is to redirect it using huge concrete barriers or cool it with sea water, Kieren Jones developed an alternative scenario in which the lava pours into casting beds excavated in the shape of structural building blocks.

"Not only would these casting beds protect the population at the base of the volcanoes but they will also provide them with a constructive material in which to aid the recovery of a community post eruption," Jones explained.

Scale model of building elements

The designer believes that the accuracy with which volcanic activity can be predicted using sophisticated geological data could enable the casting beds to be positioned at the most effective points to capture the molten rock.

"Lava as a material is naturally light and thermally insulating and has the potential to be a strong building block," said Jones.

In 2013 there are 16 volcanoes that have been identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior of being of particular interest to study due to their history of destructive eruption and proximity to populated areas – these 16 volcanoes are known as the Decade Volcanoes.

Traditionally people have toyed with living at the base of volcanoes, as the ground is highly fertile fuelled by the ash and molten lava of past eruptions. Within the immense destruction of these often vast and bubbling mounds lies potential for a constructive future.

The United Nations are currently able to predict with relative accuracy when each Decade Volcano is likely to erupt and determine the direction in which the lava will flow. At present the method for mitigating the destruction of lava flows is to place large concrete blocks in the predicted path of the flowing lava and spraying it with sea water in order to try and cool this molten material.

Intrigued by the potential that these destructive happenings have and keen to find a way to harness this powerful flow into something constructive I have been investigating the potential of creating architectures from the flowing lava. Lava as a material is naturally light and thermally insulating and has the potential to be a strong building block. In fact the early Romans created some vast domed structures using this molten material.

Therefore instead of placing large concrete blocks in its path, I propose to create large casting beds into which the lava can flow, creating building blocks for future shelters. Not only would these casting beds protect the population at the base of the volcanoes but they will also provide them with a constructive material in which to aid the recovery of a community post eruption.

On the occasion of the Blanks in Between exhibition during the London Design Festival 2013, I presented a series of experiments and investigations into the potential that the Decade Volcanoes have to build future architectures providing constructive solutions out of natural destruction.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/27/the-volcano-project-by-kieren-jones/feed/4Kora Vases by Studiopepe for Spotti Edizionihttps://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/19/kora-vases-by-studiopepe-for-spotti-edizioni/
https://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/19/kora-vases-by-studiopepe-for-spotti-edizioni/#respondSat, 19 Oct 2013 09:00:37 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=373241Six limited-edition vases were created by Milan designers Studiopepe for a window installation in central London based on the work of postmodern designer Ettore Sottass (+ slideshow). Designed for Italian design brand Spotti Edizioni, the Kora Vases by Studiopepe were exhibited as part of the So Sottsass exhibition at design store Darkroom London for the London Design Festival 2013. The vases with asymmetric

The vases with asymmetric handles were specially customised in a range of hand-painted graphic patterns and bright monotone colours.

So Sottsass featured a number of works by contemporary designers that referenced forms and patterns used in Ettore Sottsass' work during the mid twentieth century.

Darkroom is a design accessories shop curated by Rhonda Drakeford and Lulu Roper-Caldbeck.

Here is more information from Darkroom:

This is Sottsass with a twist, so expect a sculptural array of hand-painted laminate-style patterns, colour palettes that clash cute with crazy, and juxtaposed materials that push the boundaries between furniture and fashion, plus jewellery that double as objets d’art, and textiles, cushions, stationery and bags.

Visionary and contrary, throughout his life Sottsass worked across many disciplines, and his influence can be found everywhere from high fashion to office furniture in the second half of the 20th century.

From the iconic Valentine typewriter for Olivetti, to the subversively kitschy furniture of the Memphis group, Sottsass enlivened the functionality of ordinary objects, while pushing the boundaries of current tastes and creating new paradigms for future design.

For our So Sottsass season, Darkroom will be drawing on the designer’s bright and playful palette from his time with the legendary Memphis Group, and we’ll also be finding inspiration from the rough-edged modernism of his early ceramics.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/19/kora-vases-by-studiopepe-for-spotti-edizioni/feed/0"London is a crossroads for great creative people"https://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/11/london-is-a-crossroads-for-great-creative-people/
https://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/11/london-is-a-crossroads-for-great-creative-people/#commentsFri, 11 Oct 2013 17:44:18 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=370936Dezeen and MINI World Tour: in this movie filmed during London Design Festival, leading figures from London and abroad explore the pros and cons of working in the city and discuss the threats to its status as one of the major design centres of the world. "London is the most international and vibrant city there

]]>Dezeen and MINI World Tour: in this movie filmed during London Design Festival, leading figures from London and abroad explore the pros and cons of working in the city and discuss the threats to its status as one of the major design centres of the world. Spanish designer Jaime Hayon

"London is the most international and vibrant city there is, probably worldwide," says Spanish designer Jaime Hayon, who lived in London for three years.

Eero Koivisto of Claesson Koivisto Rune, Sweden

Eero Koivisto of Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune agrees. "It's truly multicultural in the same way New York is," he says.

Patrizia Moroso, creative director of Moroso, Italy

Patrizia Moroso, creative director of Italian brand Moroso, describes the city as "a sort of belly of the world."

She explains: "Many young people, people from all over the world, are attracted [to the city] because London is open."

Kieran Long, senior curator of contemporary architecture, design and digital at the V&A

Being an open city is one of the key reasons for its success, argues Kieran Long, senior curator at the V&A Museum.

"London has always been a place that is incredibly tolerant of new things," he says. "The city is based on immigration."

However, Sudjic warns that it can also be a difficult place for young designers to start up: "London is a very expensive place to be. You might find yourself migrating right out to the external edges of the city."

"Production is not the most amazing," adds Hayon. "You've got to travel a lot when you're based in London and that's costly and it's complicated if you're setting up a business."

Sudjic agrees: "London has based its success on 150 years of having great art schools," he says. "[Designers] come to study here and lots of them stay and build a practice, not necessarily based on clients here, but on clients around the world."

Alex de Rijke, co-founder of dRMM

London's schools are one of the major reasons for the proliferation of architects based in the city, claims Alex de Rijke, co-founder of architects de Rijke Marsh Morgan and dean of architecture at the Royal College of Art.

"We're spoilt for good schools for architecture here," he says. "The overly large proportion of architects in London is obviously because the education system has been strong here."

However, he adds a note of warning: "Schools are coming under threat from a lack of government funding."

Long claims the move could endanger London's status as one of the world's leading design centres.

"Any political agenda that tries to limit the influx of international students to the UK is a disaster," he says. "It's a disaster for the schools, it's a disaster for design culture here because, let's face it, there's no manufacturing here, there's nothing else. What we are is a crossroads for great creative people."